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I just completed an informational interview with a guy who works for WCPSS. The new Board was not the focus of our conversation but he had two tidbits to offer. The first thing was that this represents a HUGE step back for the district. (he was not specific as to why)
I mentioned the busing issue and he said it is important to remember the role of magnet schools...magnet program students fill about 80% of those seats. So if they want to stop busing the neighborhood kids away from magnets, there will be no place for them to go in their own neighborhoods, UNLESS Magnet programs are dismantled.
Wake has a Nationally recognized magnet program. Imagine if you were a principal or teacher at one of those and were told it would be dismantled? Employment chaos would only be the tip of the iceberg.
I'm not sure that Magnet busing is the main target of this movement...I had the impression it was more the diversity busing in other areas.
I just hope this doesn't throw everything into chaos for next year. I'm still going to apply for charter schools for my girls...if we can get in, we might avoid some of this mess.
The reality of change won't create chaos. It may delay the implementation of change until things are figured out. The new board members are hopefully responsible and will not change without a plan. The point about seats and space at the magnet schools is valid. However how to move forward will require public discussions and hopefully the needed deliberations to find consensus.
Better to have 10% of educated voters decide based on fact than to have 90% of uneducated voters decide based on gut instinct. Large voter turnout usually ends in bad decisions.
In this case of low voter turnout, the right decision was made and now the majority of Wake County citizens are having a celebration party.
Large voter turnout ends in decisions that you disagree with, you mean. GOPers hate when there is a large turnout because that trends to the left. Better to only have 11% turnout and pretend that only the "educated" people voted.
This implies that students from wealthier families deserve a better public education that students from poorer families.
Not hardly. What it implies is just what it says - I'll do my darnedest to maximize the little bit of purchasing power I have to make sure my kids don't go to a crummy school in a bad area. The problem with that is...what?
Also, it's a dodge to say that someone can't understand unless they've been there, as I know people who went to and are going to Wake County schools. The point I'm trying to make is that you can lock a jock, a goth, a skater, a prep, etc. in the same room, artificially creating a diversified situation, but you can't force them to play nice and be friends. Is that supposed to be the goal of this policy? Or is the point supposed to be to homogenize schools so there are no good ones and bad ones? What about the quality of the neighborhoods around the schools - are there no schools in the high crime areas?
Last edited by dishandspoon2008; 10-16-2009 at 08:09 AM..
The point I'm trying to make is that you can lock a jock, a goth, a skater, a prep, etc. in the same room, artificially creating a diversified situation, but you can't force them to play nice and be friends. Is that supposed to be the goal of this policy?
I'm not a fan of Wake County's policies, but really - that's your view of what diversity is about? Getting jocks, goths, etc. to "play nice and be friends"? This ain't The Breakfast Club. The issues are deeper and more complex than that - even if you don't agree with the goals.
*sigh* Obviously the political, social, economic, etc. issues are far more complex than that in the oversimplified scenario I posted (which was the first thing this brought to mind and I thought it was funny, sorry) and I'm trying to understand them, which is why I'm asking questions that are being ignored and going unanswered.
The only thing I'm really asking is, "I don't understand the point of this policy, could someone please explain it to me?". Is that so terrible?
I'll try with a few reasons for having a diversity policy:
1. Diversity exposes individuals to viewpoints and experiences that they would otherwise not have.
2. Economic diversity prevents some schools becoming saturated entirely with poor students.
3. Economically disadvantaged students do not have the same level and quality of family/parent support for educational attainment, rendering it more important that they have exposure to other students who do not suffer from the same disadvantages.
4. Impoverished schools have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified staff.
[Please note that the goal of diversity in Wake County and the Board's past policies used to achieve it are not one and the same thing. There are many parents who support some level of diversity but are opposed to things like (1) too frequent re-assignments, (2) mandatory year-round schools, (3) excessive busing distances, (4) neighborhoods with split school assignments, etc.]
*sigh* Obviously the political, social, economic, etc. issues are far more complex than that in the oversimplified scenario I posted (which was the first thing this brought to mind and I thought it was funny, sorry) and I'm trying to understand them, which is why I'm asking questions that are being ignored and going unanswered.
The only thing I'm really asking is, "I don't understand the point of this policy, could someone please explain it to me?". Is that so terrible?
Okay, yeah, not funny at all. We are talking about Real socioeconomic differences that we KNOW to have serious negative impact on educational achievement.
*sigh* Obviously the political, social, economic, etc. issues are far more complex than that in the oversimplified scenario I posted (which was the first thing this brought to mind and I thought it was funny, sorry) and I'm trying to understand them, which is why I'm asking questions that are being ignored and going unanswered.
The only thing I'm really asking is, "I don't understand the point of this policy, could someone please explain it to me?". Is that so terrible?
I think folks need to go back and realize that Wake County Public Schools in many ways are unique when compared to other urban/suburban school areas. Someone can correct my number of years ago that things occured but critical to all of this past, present and future was decision about 30 years ago to merge the Raleigh City and Wake County school districts. This was done for a number of reasons but it avoided a number of potential problems. Unlike many areas of the country where you have a city district surrounded by suburban districts here you had a combined/unified district. I believe about 5 years later or 25 ish years ago (correct me if you know) the decision was made to have diversity balance within the now unified district. Had the merger never occured you would not have the current data within the district. As the county grew and the population distribution moved further from the city you created a new set of dynamics that are now playing out. Folks out in the outskirts of the county need to realize that unlike where they may have come from they are part of the same district as their urban counterparts and the system has responsibility for all achievement and associated costs. New or potentially new board members saying no one cares about those living inside the beltway are setting the stage for a successful law suit against the board down the road. They are on record saying who cares we can neglect etc etc etc..... Those sound bites are a lawyers dream. Also a decision has to be made about being willing to actually create Title 1 schools by board of education intent. The current policy sought to minimize Title 1 schools and all that goes with them. As the new board members are about to find out the implications and consequences of NCLB on their decision making is about to be tested.
* Failure to meet AYP for two consecutive years: students must be offered a choice of transferring to other public schools.
* Failure to meet AYP for three consecutive years: students must be offered the above and supplemental educational services, including private tutoring.
* Failure to meet AYP for four consecutive years: students must be offered the above and the school must undergo outside corrective actions, which may include replacing staff or implementing a new curriculum.
* Failure to meet AYP for five consecutive years: students must be offered the above and the school must plan its restructuring, including possible governance changes.
* Failure to meet AYP for six or more consecutive years: students must be offered the above and the school must implement its restructuring plan.
Other NCLB provisions:
NCLB requires states to align tests with state academic standards and begin testing students on an annual basis in reading and math in grades 3-8 and at least once during grades 10 through 12 by the 2005-06 school year. It requires the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and mathematics tests to be administered to a sample of fourth and eighth graders in each state every other year in order to make cross-state comparisons. NCLB also requires school districts to hire teachers designated as "highly qualified" to teach core academic subjects in Title I programs. Finally, states must issue annual local report cards.
sswaring, thank you for calling attention to my problem and please accept my most sincere apologies for letting my twisted sense of humor slip out. I've made an appointment for first thing Monday to have both it and my opinion removed so as not to further offend anyone.
CHTransplant and TuborgP, thank you so much for sharing some actual, solid information! I've tried to find such online, but all I seem to find is election coverage and blogs either for or against the policy. I'm curious to know how well the system works in terms of socialization of the children. Obviously, in test scores the system works rather well, but has true socioeconomic intermingling been achieved? Do the well off students really mix with the not so well off students, or do they tend to self-separate?
Again, I'm coming at this from a limited perspective based on personal experience that's been dimmed by more than a few intercessory years. My high school was a multi-district one that blended the inner city one with the suburban ones. Test scores were high and it was a desirable school to be sent to, but there was no real mixing of the different economic groups. The doctors' and lawyers' kids kept themselves away from us blue collar workers' kids, excluding us for not having the "right" backpack or shoes or CD player or whatever. So while the school was able to secure good teachers and a high quality curriculum for inside the classroom, it made for a very uncomfortable and non-inclusive atmosphere outside the classroom.
Large voter turnout ends in decisions that you disagree with, you mean. GOPers hate when there is a large turnout because that trends to the left. Better to only have 11% turnout and pretend that only the "educated" people voted.
Well, I am too open minded to belong to any one party, so I cannot speak to what GOPers may think. As the Triangle's biggest Mayor Charles Meeker (Democrat) supporter and a voter very happy so far with Governor Bev Perdue (Democrat), I can say that very few people voting take the time to study the history of candidates and their voting record. The ones that do almost always vote. When you have a huge turnout, many of these people have not studied the issues at hand and vote strictly on feelings or worse. This goes both ways. I think in this election, fewer but more informed voters turned out and we had good results for Wake County. That was my point.
Last edited by ApexIntruder; 10-17-2009 at 07:36 AM..
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